​Frédéric et catherine pacory

Frédéric et Catherine Pacory - Poiré Domfrontais and Cider

The Domfrontais takes its name from the city Domfront, located in the Southern part of Normandy in the Orne department and about an hour and a half east of Mont Saint-Michel. Because of the deep clay soils (usually more than one meter of topsoil) and the firm granite sub soils, pear trees grow better than apple trees and poiré, also known as perry or pear cider in English speaking countries, has always been the specialty of the region.

The Pacory family has been in the Domfrontais since the beginning of the 1800s and have lived on the farm Ferme de Grimaux since 1939. At first their principle activity was raising cows, primarily for their milk but also for their meat. As cows need grazing space, tall apple and pear trees planted on high, standard rootstock allowed both types of agriculture to coexist. From this fruit, the family pressed cider and poiré and distilled calvados for their own consumption.

In 1959, Claude Pacory extended the farm and planted more trees. He also decided to sell his bottles for the first time. His products gained recognition and prizes in competitions began rolling in, including a first place trophy in 1971 for the best cave in the Domfrontais.

In 1986, Frederic Pacory took over the domaine with his wife Catherine. Together they have established themselves as highly respected poiré and calvados producers within the region. Their 90 hectares (222 acre) property is planted with 700 pear trees (all of them tall and many of them over 100 years old) and 400 apple trees (all of them tall and most over 25 years old). Their orchards are entirely organic and none of the trees or their soils has ever seen a chemical treatment. About a dozen new trees are planted each year when other trees die or get blown over. In this way the next generation is assured of having an orchard full of old, fruit-bearing trees.

Pacory makes traditional poiré and cider, that is with local, often nearly extinct varieties grown on tall trees, using indigenous yeasts, clarified by racking rather than filtering, and completing a secondary fermentation in bottle without the addition of sugar or gas and without pasteurization. Of course some light sediment may develop that contains polyphenols and spent yeast cells. While not harmful, their presence is a sign on the poire’s authenticity.

Pacory’s poiré and cider come from one single vintage. The poiré is made with 80% Plant de Blanc and 20% Bois Ballant. The pears are crushed in a balloon press, then pumped into stainless steel tanks where fermentation begins using solely indigenous yeasts. It is progressively racked to eliminate sediment. When the desired amount of sugar remains, it is bottled. Over the next few months, fermentation continues in bottle. Its lovely bubbles and fine mousse are the hallmark signs of this carefully crafted product. On the nose it shows notes of pear, citrus and peach while the medium-bodied texture shows great balance between sweetness and fine acidity. At just 5% alcohol, this is a great brunch wine, but also excellent as an aperitif, at the end of a meal or with pear-based desserts.

The Cider Le Costaud (The Strong One) comes from a single vintage and has more alcohol than many ciders (7%) hence its name. The most bitter and last falling apples are used (including Marie Ménard, Fréquin Rayé, Fréquin Vert and Douce Coet Ligné), crushed in a balloon press and fermented using only indigenous yeasts. After several rackings, it is placed in barrels that once housed calvados, where it continues to ferment for three additional months. The cider then goes into bottle where fermentation resumes and a gentle mousse is produced. This deeply-colored cider has notes of cider apples, honey, orange and brown sugar, a slight bitterness, and a rich, dry finish.

The poiré L’Ideal comes from trees more than 100 years old, with 30 trees on a hectare. Made with 100% Poire de Blanc, the pears are stocked in large wooden boxes for 36 hours to mature even further. The un-clarified juice is cooled for several days to develop further aromas. The tanks return to normal temperature and the pear juice ferments using its natural yeasts for three months. After several rackings, the poiré is stored upside down in bottles with crown caps. After six months, the bottles are disgorged leaving a poiré with less sediment than normal. With a lovely golden color and aromas full of pears and even exotic fruit and honey, this poiré also shows wonderful balance between sugar, bitterness and acidity.